This invention relates to postage meters which are devices used to imprint postal indicia on an article to be mailed and for recording the value of the postage printed. The printed postal indicia generally consists of a fixed design within which a selectable value of postage is contained. The indicia may also contain the date of mailing. An advertising or public service message may also be printed by the meter alongside the postal indicia.
Two types of printing mechanisms have been used in postage meters. One is a rotary printing mechanism which is generally used where high printing speeds are required and the other is a flat type printing mechanism which is generally lower in cost due to the absence of rotary parts. The printing of the postal indicia is done either directly on the envelope to be mailed or on a paper tape which can then be affixed to larger parcels. Pitney Bowes Inc. of Stamford, Conn. manufactures postage meters of each printing type; the Model 5300 being a rotary printing meter, while the Model 5700 is a flat printing meter.
In some countries, government postal regulations require additional data to be imprinted along with the postal indicia to identify the type of mailing being done (i.e., air mail, newspaper, books, etc.). The present invention relates to an auxiliary printing member to print this additional data along with the postal indicia. U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,460 to Klaus Nuckel discloses such an auxiliary printing member in a rotary printing postage meter. The present invention relates more specifically to an auxiliary printing member for use in a flat printing type postage meter.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary printing member in a postage meter to print additional data alongside the standard flat printing postal indicia.
Another object is to provide means to select one of a number of mail identification data to be printed by the auxiliary printer.
Another object is to provide means to easily remove the auxiliary printer for substitution by another printer having a different set of mail identification data thereon.
Yet another object is to provide mounting means for the auxiliary printer so as to allow the printing surface to automatically adjust to an uneven surface that may be encountered in the mail that is presented to the meter for imprinting.